Roof and method of forming the same



June 9, 1925. 1,541,130

D. FINLEY ROOF AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME Fil ed Dec. 19. 1922INVENTOR. fioz/er fin/6y.

WIT/v5.5.5 H By M-W v fiZ/Mm ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 9, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIOE.

DOZIER FINLEY,

OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE PAEAFFINE GOM- PANIES, INC.,0]? SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

ROOF AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME.

Application filed December 19, 1922. Serial No. 607,791.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DOZIER FINLEY, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Berkeley, county of Alameda, and State of California, haveinvented a certain new and useful Roof and Method of Forming the Same,of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a method of forming roofs with the so-calledprepared roofing, that is, roofing comprising sheets of a felt basesaturated and coated with as phaltic compositions.

An object of the invention is to provide a less expensive method offorming roofs with prepared roofing than is possible under the usualpractice followed at the present time.

The usual practice followed in laying prepared roofing, when the roof istoconsist of several plies of roofing, is to lay one ply of roofing,cover this ply with hot melted asphalt, and immediately apply the nextply of roofing. The hot asphalt is chilled very quickly when in contactwith the lead roo ing and consequently, the second ply must be appliedvery quickly or the asphalt w ll solidify and will not properly bind theplies together. The asphalt is melted in a kettle, usually situated onthe street in front of the building and its preparation requires theservices of an experienced kettle tender, whose duty is to melt theasphalt and maintain it at the proper temperature. The hot liquidasphalt is then carried to the roof in buckets and is spread on the laidsheets by a mop man. As soon as it is spread, it must be immediatelycovered with the next ply of roofing and this requires the services oftwo experienced felt men. The laying of roofs of prepared roofing, as itis at present practiced, therefore requires a gang of not less than fourmen, all of whom must be experienced, if a good job is to result.

In accordance with the process of my invention, a good job may be doneby one man.

When my process is employed, the services of a kettle tender are notrequired and since the plastic binder which I employ sets slowly, it maybe applied to the surface of the laid roofing and exposed to the air fora considerable time before it loses its binding properties, so that oneman may spread the binder and subsequently apply the next ply ofroofing.

The invention comprises other advantageous features, some of which, withthe foregoing, will be set forth at length in the following description,where I shall outline in full, one form of procedure in applying mymethod to the formation of a roof of prepared roofing. The roofing maybe laid in any desirable manner or arrangement, but

in order to more fully explain my invention, I have shown a preferredarrangement in the accompanying drawing which is a perspective view of alaid roof, parts thereof being torn away to disclose the construction.

Prepared roofing is generally obtainable in 36 inch widths, and hasusually been laid with an expanse of with a two-inch lap, the lap beingheld by lap. I prefer to lay the roofing, so that a double thickness ofroofing is obtained over the whole roof. This requires the lapping ofthe upper sheet over the nether sheet, for a distance in excess ofone-half the width of the sheet, a system which has not usually beenfollowed heretofore on account of the expense of installation. Thisexpense is caused by the necessity of applying the hot melted asphaltbinder to the largeportion of the surface of the under sheet which is tobe overlapped by the upper sheet. I have provided a method of bindingthe overlapping areas of the sheets together without the use of the hotmelted asphalt and at a cost 34 inches to the weather,

" nailing thru the double thickness at the i which is considerably lessthan that incurred in the hot melted asphalt process.

I prefer to lay first a strip 2 of roofing, 19 inches wide, along theroof at the eaves, and nail the strip at both its upper and lower edgesto the wooden roof sheathing. A second strip 3 of roofing is then laidout so that its lower edge will coincide with the lower edge of thestrip 2, and the second sheet is nailed to the roof sheathing along itsupper edge. The second strip 3 thus overlaps the first strip 2, for thewhole width of the first sheet, thus forming two thicknesses of roofingover the area covered by the first sheet. The second sheet is then laidback, to expose the whole surface of the sheet 2 and the surface of thesheet 2 is coated with an asphaltic compound. This compound ispreferably composed chiefly of soft asphaltum cut with a volatilesolvent and containing fibi ous material. I have had excellent successwith a binder or compound composed of materials pounds California Dgrade asphaltum; 2 pounds California L grade asphaltum; 1

pints coal oil; p1nt coal tar distillate boiling from approximately 100C. to 140 (1; pound asbestos fiber screening thruj the surface iscoated, the strip 3 is turnedback over strip 2 and pressed tightlyagainst the lower strip, whereby the strips are sealed or cementedtogether by the compound, which forms a plastic conformable layer 4capable of closely adhering to the contiguous surfaces of the lappedlayers 2 and 3. Ordinary cold cements heretofore used are of lowviscosity and are not readily spread. They do not enter into theirregularities of the surfaces which they are intended to unite and suchsurfaces are united only at high areas which form but a small portion ofthe Whole, so that the action of the elements to separate the layers ispermitted. My plastic material will not flow out of the joint andbecause it formsa layer of appreciable thickness which completely fillsall irregularities of the contiguous surfaces, the sheets are unitedover their entire abutting areas. The third strip 5 is then laid toexpose 17 inches of strip 3, thus overlapping the upper edge of strip 2.The

strip 5 is then nailed in place at-its upperv .edge and laid back toexpose the surface of strip 3. which is to be covered thereby. The

'surface of strip 3 which is to be covered by strip5 is then given acoating 6 of the plastic compound, and strip 5 turned back and pressedtightly down against the compound thus cementing the strips 3. and 5together. These steps are repeated, placing strips 7 8 and so on, untilthe ridge is reached, and a cap strip may be cemented over the ridge,thus connecting and waterproofing the roof, which has been brought up tothe ridge from the two sides.

It is obvious that roofing may be laid according to this method, withany desired amount of overlap, producing different thicknesses ofroofing on the roof deck.

The compound set forth above, produces excellent results, but itsingredients may be altered .withoutinterfering with its properties. Forinstance, blown or oxidized asphalt may be employed instead of the Dgrade asphalt and rag fiber may be used instead of asbestos fiber. Thecompound, however, should be semi-liquid or plastic at ordinarytemperatures, so that it may be applied without heating and should beslow drying, so that the upper strip may be pressed into place, afterthe surface of the lower strip has been fully covered. The

volatile solvents evaporate slowly, so that the compound remains plasticfor some time, regardless of temperature conditions. The plasticcompound is possessed of such adhesiveness as to cement together thesuperposed strips of roofing even before the volatile solvents haveevaporated, so that a tight weather-proof and water-proof bond is formedbetween the strips immediately the roofing is laid. It is obvioushowever, that the effectiveness of this bond is enhanced by thesubsequent evaporation of the solvents so that ultimately a practicallyrigid union is formed between the strips. At this time the roofing issubstantially a continuous and integral structure thoroughly weather andwater-proof.

The compound is also adapted to hold sand or gravel or other mineral onthe roof and after the strips have been laid, their exposed surface may,if desired, be coated with the compound and then covered with sand orgravel.

I claim:

The method of forming a roof with strips of smooth surfaced preparedroofing, which comprises laying a strip of roofing, laying a secondstrip of roofing abovethe first strip and overlapping a predeterminedportion of the first strip, securing the second strip to the roofsheathing adjacent its upper edge only, in then laying back the secondstrip to expose the overlapped surface of the first strip, covering saidsurface with a layer of a plastic adhesivc'compound having substantiallythe same temperature as the atmosphere, then turning the second stripback over that portion of the first strip to cover the said compound,and pressing the second strip into the layer ofthe compound topermanently unite the strips.

In testimony-whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

DOZIER invLnY.

